


Behind the Walls

by RANDOMPERSON829



Category: Domics - Fandom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2020-11-08 14:11:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20836793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RANDOMPERSON829/pseuds/RANDOMPERSON829
Summary: In a world where human flesh consumption has become legal, a young boy seeks to overthrow the companies that produce the meat, and their dark motives.





	1. Behind the Walls

Human meat is absolutely delicious.

Only ten years ago, anyone who said those words would be regarded as insane. 

But now, human wagyu, or Wagin, has become the most popular meat that the world could hold.

It started when a professional chef unknowingly cooked up a human being. The mistake should have landed him in prison, but instead, he discovered the most delicious meat. 

Over a year, Human Wagyu was researched, using convicts on death row to test the different flavors.

In 2020, Wagin was legalized. Soon, corporation began to rise, giving people the chance to live an extraordinary life in return for an early demise, and having their body turned into a delicious meal.

But the companies lied.

There's no Wagyu life. There's no money, no cars, nothing. 

They seal us away, behind massive walls. The public believes that behind these guarded walls is a paradise.

But if one brace soul ventures past the guards, past the walls, they'd find the largest prison in the world.

With society blind to its dark secrets, Wagin soon took over the world. The slaughter of thousands every year turned into the largest food source in the world.

And that brings me to my own story. 

My name is Dom. And I have dedicated my life to ridding the world of Wagin.


	2. Behind the Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world now consumes human flesh on a daily basis. But it wasn't always this way. Discover how Wagin first began.

I guess I should start at the beginning.

The first person to ever make Wagyu was none other than Gordon Ramsey.

It was April 1, 2020. Gordon appeared on live TV, saying that he had been given a mystery meat and it was his job to try and make the best meal he could with it.

An hour and a half later, he finished his dish, a beautiful steak, with potatoes, and more.

A group of guest celebrities got to try the dish with Gordon, and all of them proclaimed that the dish was the greatest thing any of them had ever tasted. Even Gordon was surprised by how tasty the meat was.

At the end of the show, the mystery meat was revealed. Human flesh.

At first, they assumed it was a joke. Everyone who watched the show did.

But when Gordon was arrested, the event exploded.

Millions discussed the event, why was Gordon being arrested for what his producers did? Where did they get access to human flesh? After all this discussion, a new question appeared.

Did it really taste that good?

Suddenly, human flesh was the question of the century. Everyone wanted to try it, but no one knew how they could possibly get the meat.

After years of illegal Wagin, the term for human meat that was made, Wagyu World, who would soon be the largest Wagin producers in the world, pressed on the legal issues of Wagin.

After years of trail, legal discussion, and bribes, a new law was passed. Wagin was now legal. 

But a new problem emerged. How would we get the meat for Wagin without outright murder?

Wagyu World solved that problem too.

They created a new program, the “Wagyu life”

You offer yourself to become Wagin in exchange for riches, and an amazing life.

Soon, enormous structures began appearing, massive facilities covered by stone walls. This is where the Wagyu life people would be held.

The program was a success, Wagin was a success. The Wagyu life was a success.


	3. Behind the walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dom remembers how he himself first entered the walls.

How did I get in the walls? Well, I was one of the few thousands that signed up for the Wagyu life.

It happened around three years ago. That was when Wagyu World began to advertise themselves. On every electronic device, on every radio, even on random papers flying around, their ad was shown, offering the Wagyu life. 

At first, I thought it was a scam. But, like many others, I was drawn to the idea of a rich and prosperous life. So I clicked on the link.

It led me to the Wagyu World website, where they gave me 4 different options.

1 year plan. You get one year of life, where you get unlimited riches, literally anything, and everything that you want. 

A 5 year plan. You get to live longer, but instead of unlimited riches, you are limited to about 5 trillion dollars each year.

Then a ten year plan, then a twenty year one. I decided on the ten year plan, and logged off my computer. That night, I said goodnight to my parents, and went to bed. I didn't know it then, but I would never see them again.

When I woke up, I found myself in a room. 

I look around and all I can see is a bed, and a closet, that with further inspection, contains several of the same grey clothes.

I find two doors, one that is locked, while the other leads to a bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower

I spend the next hour searching for a way out, screaming for help. Eventually I give up, my head still filled with unanswered questions. 

I'm sleeping when a loud alarm jolts me awake. As I look around, trying to remember where I was, I see that the locked door has swung open.

Still drowsy, I step out into a hallway, and see four other boys, all about my age.

We look at each other, sizing each other up, before one boy speaks up.

“Hey guys. I'm Mike. Anyone know how the hell we got here?”

Reluctantly, we introduced ourselves. Adam, Kevin, Sam, Mike, and me. After some sharing, we discover that we all got here the same way. We signed up for the Wagyu Life, and the next thing we know, we're here.

Before I can process this, a door at the end of the hall opens. We turn and an armed man gestures for us to follow him. 

We leave the hallway and enter a massive room, about 100 meters, wide and long. For my americans, it's around the size of a football field.

And in the room are dozens of other kids, all being led by an armed guard. 

We begin to mingle, and the flurry of names begins to hurt my head. Jake, Jimmy, Sarah, Kim, Sung, Shin, Oprah, Erin. 

But one person catches my eye. I walk up to a cute girl named Clare, and introduce myself. 

Before we can chat, another alarm rings, and shouts of surprise fills the air. 

A platform a chunk of the ceiling breaks off, and lowers towards the ground. As it gets closer, I can see a man in a suit standing atop it. He's wearing an expensive watch, suit and tie, so I know that he must be important.

It stops about ten feet above the air, and in a loud voice, the man proclaims, “Welcome to Wagyu World.”

His shout silences the crowd, and he continues, and his platform begins to slowly turn.

“I'm happy to announce that you have arrived at your new life. All of you chose the Wagyu life, and here you are.”

Relief flows through me. We weren't kidnapped. Just transported to the Wagyu world.

I'm so relieved, I almost miss his next words.

“I'm sorry to inform you that you have been lied to.”

His statement instantly quiets everyone.

“Oh don't worry.” He reassures us. “You will become Wagyu. But it costs too much to give you the Wagyu life. So, unfortunately, we will have to keep you here.”

One boy shouts out, “Why should we listen to you?!” 

The man simply hits a button on his watch.

The boy suddenly collapses, screaming in pain. Everyone around him scurries away, watching as the boy convulses on the ground for a moment, before he stops, still panting.

“If you choose to disobey us, you will be punished. If you try to leave, the guards will stop you, with lethal force if necessary.”

His comment sends a chill through my body. 

“You should have a letter and a number tattooed on your arm.”

I look down to check, and sure enough, I have a tattoo. K3.

“This letter,” he continues, “Shows what group you are in. As you can see, there are doors labeled from A-Z. Your sleeping quarters is labeled by your tattoo. You may enter any other room, if you have permission from the person inside. But you must avoid rooms. X, Y, and Z. Anyone who enters this room will be punished, and likely killed.”

The platform slowly begins to rise up, and he shouts one last sentence. “Now, go and get some sleep. Your new life has begun!”

That night, or at least what we were told was night, was terrible. I could tell that some people were trying to escape from the sounds of banging, and soon after, the sounds of children screaming in pain.

The next morning, we are all told our schedule. Throughout the day, each group would attend a mandatory exercise hour. When your group is called, you go. Other than that, we could do whatever we'd like.

At first many people thought this whole thing was a joke. But then, people started disappearing. The day, ten people disappeared, the next, only two. Each time someone disappears, they are replaced by a new, terrified teen.

There was no doubt where they were all going. Room Z. The room that we call the Processing room. 

Adam was the first to go in group K. One day he was with us, the next morning he was gone.

I think that was when I first realized it. If we couldn't get out, we were all doomed.


	4. Behind the walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life inside the walls

Three years later:

I wake up at 8:00. The same time that I awake every single day.

I throw some clothes on, and after washing my face in an attempt to wake myself up, I leave the room at 8:20. I step out into the hall, and greet each of my hall mates.

Ayden and Will are talking, both seemingly energetic, while besides them, Will looks so tired he looks like a zombie. Mike leans against the wall eyes closed, as if he was sleeping. Kevin still seems to be in his room getting ready.

Mike opens his eyes, and notices me. "Hey, Domey!" He calls me by his nickname for me. "I guess you finally decided to wake up.

Over the last three years, I've had over a hundred different hall mates. Almost every other week, one of us is processed and replaced. Out of all our hall mates, only three of the original hall mates remain. Mike, Kevin(1), and me. And out of the original 144, only 22 or so are left.

I always get to know each and everyone of our hall mates as well as I can. But I've seen others avoid talking to almost everyone. That way, when someone is inevitably processed, they won't feel terrible loss. And when they are processed, they won't break anyone's heart.

And it works. They are the ones who generally feel the least emotion to the processing. But they seem hollow, a shell of a human. That always scared me.

When someone gets processed, I always feel an ache in my heart. Whether I know them, or if they're just a total stranger, I always feel sorry.

But I'd never really felt true pain. Not until...

I shake my head. I refuse to go back to that moment. To the pain, to the suffering I'd felt.

The sound of screaming interrupts my memories. It's 8:30. And as always, there are a few poor souls who didn't quite make it out in time. 

The door at the end of the hall opens and we walk out into the main hall.

The main hall is where all the rooms connect. A massive room that leads to each of the sleeping halls, the guard rooms, and the processing room.

I enter the hall, and watch as the people file in. I recognize some of the faces, and even see some people that I can tell are here for the very first time. My heart sinks. One girl is crying, and her friends are attempting to console her.

Someone was processed last night.

Breakfast starts the moment everyone has entered the hall.

The hall also contains the lunch room, which is just 23 benches, each marked specifically with your hall room.

Everyone gets the same meal. It differs each day, but it's always, aperently, organic and healthy. Nothing too special, often a sandwich, an apple, sometimes even some dessert.

After breakfast, we're set free, to do whatever we'd like. Of course, that's not entirely true. But you can meet with other group, you can socialize. 

In one corner of the hall is a pile of entertainment. No electronics, but some balls, several decks of playing cards, an really old books such as The Outsiders.

In the three years that I've been here, I've reread the Outsiders hundreds of times, learned to throw a ball with incredible accuracy, and even learned some card magic and cardistry. When you've got hours an hours of free time, you get bored easily.

Of course, the thing most people of is socialize. Friends meet with friends, people talk, play, joke around. You're even allowed to go into others rooms.

Now, there are some guidelines that we were never told, but soon became apparent to everyone.

For example, the idea of sex.

You put dozens and dozens of hormonal teens into a single building, something is bound to happen.

And it indeed happened eventually.

The two teens who decided to try it out were severely punished the next day, shocked and beaten. Luckily, the girl did not become pregnant.

It soon became clear that it was not something to be meddled with.

But then, there's the extremely terrible acts.

For one, murder. 

In the three years, only one inmate has ever murdered another inmate. A boy named Jacob.

The next day, Jacob was found dead in the main hall.

He was not turned to Wagin. Instead, he was brutally punished, his body speared and placed in the hall on a pike.

The next day, there was no sign of the body. But no one would ever forget it.

To this day, I can still picture the body, hanging limp, his mouth open in a silent scream. 

Acts such a stealing and fights would be dealt with. But if you push it too far, you took it to the next level, you wouldn't just be punished. You would be used as an example of what happens when you break the rules.

Quickly, the man in the suit, the people at Wagyu world, even the guards were treated differently.

Some saw them as gods, others as enslavers. But one thing everyone knew was that you never try your luck against any of them.

After lunch, I decide to spend the afternoon with some of my other friends, like Jaiden and Carol from group C, two of my best friends.

Jaiden is another one of the originals, or who we call the Alphas.

The Alphas are treated like the veterans. They are the ones to turn to, the ones who help anyone new.

And as an Alpha, I always feel strange.

Sure, I love to help anyone new, but when people treated me as almost a legend, it felt wrong.

I'm nothing special. I shouldn't be treated any different just because I've been trapped here for longer than others.

I spend the next hour playing card games with Jaiden, and several other inmates. 

At around 5:00, the inevitable occurs.

As I'm talking with Jaiden, I see Mikey approach us, a serious look on his face.

My laughter fades, knowing exactly what he was about to say.

"Hey, Domey! Jaiden! Nice to see you guys!" His voice lowers as he draws closer. "Did you guys think about it? Our escape plan?"

Escape. The first thing that many of the prisoners here think of. 

Dozens have tried, all of them caught and punished. 

From the dozens of attempts, we've learned a lot about the final three doors. X, Y, Z.

Room X is the Guards quarters. The poor kid who tried to escape barged into the room, only to be met by dozens of guards. The sight wasn't pretty.

Room Y is the processing room. As it happens, the girl who tried to escape didn't have to be taken far for her punishment.

And door Z. It's the way the most believe to be the way out. But none have ever actually escaped. 

Only two were able to get through door Z. The first came back riddled with bullet holes.

The other was none other than our own Hall K Alpha, Sam.

He escaped through the door, and thirty minutes later, was dragged back into the hall.

He was publicly executed, but not before he proclaimed his final words, ones that would be remembered for years to come.

"I saw it! The Sun! I saw the sky! I felt a cool breeze on my skin! But I couldn't get out. The walls! The walls!!"

To this day, people still talk about him. The first person to almost reach the outside world. 

His words told us valuable information. Behind door Z, through whatever hell that it holds, is a Wall. The last thing that separates us from the outside world.

And it's Mikey's goal to try and get past it.

"No." 

I always give the same answer. Maybe I'm a coward like Mikey says. But I don't care. 

Every single time I decline, Mikey sighs, and goes of on a tangent. But this time, before we could discuss it any further, our group is called to our mandatory exercise and nutrients.

Every group is called up each day to go to an unmarked room, which we call the doctors office. There, we're given shots, nutrients that we can't get, being stuck inside all day. And then, we're taken to the exercise room. 

Here, they force us to do a variety of different exercises, to make sure we maintain our health. We are given Wednesdays and Sundays off from the training, but on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, we have the same routine. For 45 minutes a day, we do intense workouts. 

Today, I avoid making eye contact with Mikey, as we go through all of our workouts.

As it turns out, we are the last group to exercise that day.

So we head back to the hall and eat our dinner.

That night, after all the cleaning up, as I lay in my bed, I think of what Mikey had said.

The idea of escape scares me. I can only imagine the horror that is behind the door. The pain I would feel if I was caught. The fear petrified me.

I stay up all night, twisting and turning, trying to decide. What should I do, what could I do?

And after hours and hours of pondering, I make my decision.

We are trapped here. And I would rather die trying to get out, than submitting to out captors.

I owe it to everyone to try. Everyone who was brave enough to attempt to escape, everyone trapped in this prison with us. 

The next morning, I wake and head to Mikey's room.

I know exactly what I would tell him.

But Mikey is no where to be found.


	5. Behind the Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Dom's best friend is taken from him, Dom thinks back to the first time he'd felt true pain, the first time he had lost someone he loved.

Confusion.

That's what I felt when I knocked on Mike's door, only to be answered by a young boy, one I’d never met before. 

"Where am I?" He asks.

For a moment, I'm frozen, unable to comprehend the situation.

Suddenly, I'm grabbing onto the boy, shaking him violently. 

"No no no! Where's Mike? Where's Mike!"

The boy lets out a startled cry, but i just continue to shake him. Soon, I'm pulled off the boy, and I fall to my knees. 

"Mike." I mutter. 

In the distance, I can hear the cries, as people are shocked, but I can do nothing but kneel there, staring into Mike's room. I don’t even feel pain, I don’t feel any anger. I don’t feel anything.

I have to be dragged into the main hall, people quickly notice my lifeless body, and the absence of a very well known individual.

To many, Mike was a symbol. An Alpha, a leader. Kind, caring. A symbol of Hope. But the Hope dies with him.

I spend the day stuck in my cell, empty. I know I should be feeling pain, sorrow, anything. But I feel nothing.

I feel myself being shocked when I miss our exercise, but I don't care. Kevin Barges in later, begging me to snap out of it. But I turn to him and say, "They took Adam, they took Kevin. They took all our friends. And now they took Mike. They should just take me next."

Eventually, Kevin gives up, leaving me to deal with my painful memories.

As I lie in my bed, I begin to remember the first time I had truly lost someone. The first person I’d truly cared for.

Her name was Erin Kim 

I think the first time I met Erin was a month after the kidnappings. I recognized her from the first day, but hadn't seen her since. 

She was short, with long black hair, and a kind smile. Cute, kind, and based on the laughs that came from her group, she’s funny too.

I was instantly interested.

It took me a day to get the courage to go over and introduce myself to her. Pretty soon, we became great friends. We would hang out every chance we could, joking, playing around. Our groups, groups K and … became a single groups of sorts, eating and hanging out together, But Erin and I had a closer bond than the others. 

We laughed together, suffered together, through all the processing, through all the pain, we stuck together.

And three months after I’d met her, I asked her out. 

She said yes.

And from that day forward, we were a couple. We'd get together at every opportunity, spending hours together. 

I'd had a couple girlfriends before, but not very many. And none like Erin.

We were that kind of couple who are both cute, but incredibly annoying. The ones that you both love to see together, but also get nauseous at the same time.

But we didn't care what they thought, whether they supported us, or hated us. We just cared about each other.

I'm not sure when the arguments began. But soon, all the stress, all the pain we have to go through pushed us too far. We went from snuggling in each other's rooms to arguing about the most trivial things. 8 months after we began dating, we finally split up. 

And only a week later, Erin was processed.

I still remember that day. The day when I saw her group members crying, breaking the news to us through their tears and sobbing.

I remember falling to my knees, a lifeless shell of a person, as I mourned the loss of my ex-love, Erin.

And now, over two years later, I've returned to this pitiful state, lifeless as I mourn yet another lost soul.


	6. Behind the Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dom realizes that his time is up. He has a decision to make. Escape, or die.

My cries echo throughout hall K, my anguish and suffering spreading all throughout the building.

Since Mike's processing, I've only done two things. I'm either screaming, crying my heart out, or I'm a lifeless shell of a human, completely void of any emotion.

The guards had continuously stormed into my room, shocking me, but eventually gave up when I refused to leave the room, regardless.

Hours later, I pass out from exhaustion, my throat raw from all the yelling, my eyes dry, out of tears to cry.

In the morning I'm dragged from my room by my own roommates, forced to dress up and enter the main hall. 

My screams have died down, leaving me as nothing more than a zombie, once again.

But this time, as we sit to eat our breakfast, I'm not left alone.

Kevin punches me in the face. Hard.

I cry out and turn to him angrily, but he grabs me by the shirt, and lifts me closer to him. 

"Listen to me closely Dom. You don't have long to live. You think that they'll just let you mope around?! No! They're gonna process you if you don't get your act together!"

I shake my head, unable to fully understand him. 

"So what do I do?"

He shakes his head. "It's too late to start acting normal again. You've only got one other option."

I stare at him, then his words hit me.

"You're talking about escape?"

He nods. "I've seen how the guards look at you. You've got one day, tops. That means you've got to escape."

I begin to shake, terror threatening to take over my body, but ... Slaps me, knocking me out of my stupor.

"Listen to me Dom! I know that you miss Mike! So do I! But everything is in vain if you die! So do this for him!"

I stare him in the eye, trying to force down my tears and my pain. "I'll do it."

Kevin releases me, and goes back to eating his food, before turning to me. 

"We're counting on you." He says. "We all are."

The guard walks around the dimly lit main hall, occasionally looking at his watch. 

The alarm goes off, signaling the guard. It's time for the prisoners to sleep.

The guard listens carefully, and shrugs. No screams. Anyone out of their room would have been shocked.

The guard sighs. 'Three hours of patrolling, and I can go to sleep.'

He walks around the main hall, circling, round and round. A few minutes of walking, and he begins to get bored, with nothing to do but walk around.

The boy seems to appear out of nowhere.

One moment, the hall is clear, the next, a figure is standing in front of the guard, head bowed.

The guard lets out a cry of surprise, stumbling back.

"Who are you? What are you doing out of your room?"

The figure raises his head to reveal a young boy.

The guard pulls out his tranquilizer, pointing it at the boy.

"Get back in your room, or I'll shoot!"

The boy raises his hands, and the guard notices something in his grasp. Before he can react, the boy suddenly releases what was in his hands. 

The playing cards fly through the air, obscuring the guard’s view as they fall onto him.

With a surprised yelp, the guard fires, the dart launching into the dark.

Suddenly, the guard feels something slam into his head. The world begins to fade, but he fights against it, and before he collapses, presses a button on his watch.

The guard collapses as the alarms begin to scream.

I curse. The alarm has been raised. More guards would be appearing at any moment.

It had taken all my strength not to cry out when I'd been tased for being out of my room. Hiding under the table for twenty minutes hadn't helped either. I don't have all my strength. And to escape, I'd need all the strength I could muster.

I grab the fallen guard's taser and rush to room X's door. The first guard charges out, only to receive a shock in the stomach. He collapses, blocking my way. Before I can move him, the next guard appears, knocking the taser from my hands and knocking me away from the door.

I stumble into one of the lunch tables, and my back slams into the bench hard. I spot the taser, and scramble for the taser, but a bang rings out before I can get to it.

I stare at the hole on the ground, and back at the guard, who's pistol is still smoking.

The guard aims his pistol at me. This time, I've got nothing left to protect myself with, no more tricks up my sleeve, not a single card left.

But luckily, I wasn't alone.

The guard’s eyes suddenly roll into the back of his head, and he staggers for a moment, before collapsing. Standing over his crumpled body is Jaiden, still holding up the large book she'd used to hit the guard.

I look at her, both relieved and confused. "Jaiden? What are you doing out here?"  
She ignores me, and begins to drag the table in front of the door. I hurry to help her, and we block the door as another guard appears. We close the door, and he slams into it, shaking it upon impact. 

Jaiden turns to me and sighs. "You don't think I noticed how you were acting earlier? I had a feeling that you were planning to sneak out tonight. Luckily, I was right."

Before I respond, the barrier in front of door X shakes, as the guards continue to try and open the door.

Jaiden immediately takes the guard's weapons and motions to me.

"Go! I'll hold them off!"

Before I can argue, she pushes me towards the exit, the infamous door Z. I stumble into it, and after glancing back at Jaiden one more time, I push through.

The door leads to a long hall, with a site door at the end. I hear the door begin torn down as the guards finally get past the barrier. I turn to see Jaiden, who's begun to fire at the guards. I whisper one last word of thanks, and sprint down the hall, to the door, and burst through.

I'm instantly regret my decision.

It's dark, almost pitch black. The only thing that I can see are bright spots in the sky, that seem to be twinkling. 

It takes a moment to realize what they are.

Stars.

I breathe in, and cool air fill my lungs. Tears begin to well up in my eyes, but then, I hear footsteps coming from the hall.

I sprint away as fast as I can. The wind is cool against my face as I race forwards, desperate to escape.

Their footsteps begin to fade, and I begin to slow. And then, I ram into something.

I practically bounce off the surface, clutching my head as I collapse.

I lay there groaning, for a moment, until I hear a small noise coming from the distance.

I grit my teeth, trying not to make a sound, as something draws closer and closer.

Suddenly, a bright light flares up and I'm blinded.

But I can still feel a sharp sting as something enters my arm.

The bright light begins to fade, and just before I black out, I spot a figure holding a gun, slowly aiming it at my face.


	7. Behind the Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dom finds himself in a new location, no longer inside facility, but still behind the massive walls

I wake up to the sound of birds singing.

Sunlight glares at my face as I open my eyes. I raise my arm in an attempt to block the light, and observe my surroundings. 

I find myself in a bed, similar to the one from my room. For a moment I panic, thinking that they'd dragged me back into my cell. After a moment, I remember that my room didn't have sunlight, or birds.

I'm in a small room. The walls are made up of dark wood. Besides the bed is a single nightstand, with a small lamp on top. Light seeps into the room through a small window, too high to look through. 

I crawl out of the bed, and find a fresh set of clothes, folded in a neat pile at the edge of the bed.

I change from my "prison garments" into the new set of clothes. Surprisingly, they fit perfectly.

I open my door slightly, and peer out. I find myself in another hall, this one with only three other rooms. After some inspection, all three seem to have been occupied recently, but there's no sign of where they'd gone to. 

At the end of the hall is a spiraling staircase that I sneak down, cautiously making my way down. At the end of the staircase is nothing but a wooden wall. I observe it, searching for a way past. Nothing. I consider breaking through it, but decide against it. 

Before I can continue my pondering, I hear voices, frantically murmuring. 

I move back up the staircase, and watch from above as the solid wood wall seems to disappear entirely, and three kids rush up the stairs. Before I can move, one grabs me and pulls me into a room.

I begin to protest, but he puts his pans over my mouth and puts a finger to his lips. "Quiet!" He whispers.

I begin to struggle, but he glares at me with such severity that I stop.

Below me, I can hear the faint sounds of laughter and talking. A few minutes go by, and it quiets down. 

Soon after, I hear footsteps as someone walks up the stairs, and a face peers into the room.

"Coast is clear." He says.

The boy breathes a sigh of relief, and releases me, before following the man out of the room.

I lay sit on the floor for a moment, still trying to process the events that are unfolding in front of me when another person walks into the room.

This time, it's a girl who looks vaguely familiar.

"You coming, or not?" She asks.

I nod, and follow her downstairs and through the disappearing wall.

I find myself in a standard home, the kind that I haven't seen in years. 

After years in a cell, inside of a building, the sight of a simple kitchen, a living room, the bathrooms, all seem foreign to me.

There are two boys sitting at a table, eating a variety of foods, ranging from waffles, to eggs, to bacon. I realize that it must be morning, but what day is still unclear.

The girl joins them at the table, and motions for me to sit down as well, before she begins to eat.

I sit down cautiously, taking a fork and spoon, and cautiously begin to eat. 

No one attempts to start up a conversation, so I look around, and spot another person at the stove, cooking some more bacon. 

The two boys and the girl all seem to be at least 12 and at most 17. But this person is clearly older, at least in his late twenties.

Something about the man bothers me. I stare at him, eggs still filling my mouth, as I try to deduce what is bugging me.

It hits me in an instant.

The man is wearing a guard uniform.

I begin to panic. Who are these people? Obviously, they are working with the guards, they could all be guards themselves. 

I force myself to breathe, before I make my move.

The man turns just in time to see a fork fly towards his face.

He lets out a startled cry as he stumbles, dropping the pan, and narrowly avoiding the flying utensil.

Before anyone can react, I'm already holding another fork to the girls neck, and fending off the others with a spoon.

"What the hell is going on here!" One of the boys yell, enraged. He begins to approach me, but I dig into the girls neck with the fork, and he stops.

"Who are you people and what do you want from me?" I yell.

The man stands up, and slowly approaches me. I turn to face him, still wary. 

"Look kid, we're on your side, so why don't you put down the fork, ok?"

I laugh. "Your uniform says otherwise."

He looks down at his outfit, before looking back at me, and the back on the shirt.

Then he gives out a loud laugh, one that makes me hesitate.

"Oh, you think I'm with those people? I see. Let us just explain to you who we really are."

"I can't believe it." I say. "Other people have escaped the facility before?" 

The man, or as he called himself, Kresh, gives a chuckle. "Well, believe it. You're the first to escape in a while though."

Kresh explains how he'd begin to work in the walls as a guard when the project started. But he was always uncomfortable with what they we're doing.

So when one had escaped complex, he'd decided to help them, hiding them inside his home.

Ehlboy was the first to ever escape, almost two years ago. He's a small boy, only about 5'3, three inches shorter than myself, but he apparently has incredible intellect.

Within a month of being inside the facility, he was able to analyze the guards, memorizing their patrol patterns, what each individual guard's habits were, with whom they were least careful around.

He made it through door Z, disabling and reassembling the alarms, and escaping.

He'd almost made it without being seen, but Kresh spotted him.

Luckily, Kresh took him in, hiding him in his house, inside of an attic that he'd later transformed into several bedrooms.

Claire, the only girl, continues to glare at me as Jomm tells his story.

She and the other boy, Jomm, had escaped together. Their plan had been much less complicated than Ehlboy’s.

Claire simply pretended to be a weak girl, who'd gotten lost and was in pain due to the tazers.

And when the guards went to help her, Jomm knocked them out with a heavy book.

They made it out of the facility with the alarms blaring.

They hid in one of the guard houses before they were inevitably found by the guard.

He brought them to Kresh who promptly "processed" them.

Instead, he took them in as well. Now, the three of them live in secrecy, trying to live and not get caught by any other guards.

Luckily, as a guard, Kresh had plenty of supplies at hand, ranging from weapons to medicine to food.

And they'd been living here ever since.

At the end of his story, Kresh leaves the table, cleaning up the bacon that I'd caused him to spill earlier.

I stare down at my plate, the food now cold.

"Has anyone tried to get out yet?" I ask.

Claire rolls her eyes. "Of course people have. There used to be five of us. The other two didn't make it."

I look up, looking at each person individually. "There's no way we're stuck here! There has to be a way out!"

Ehlboy laughs. "Look, I've been here or over two years. I've looked over the walls, the guards, everything. There's no way to get past them."

Jomm takes an enormous bite of before saying, "Get comfortable here. You'll be here for the rest of your life."


	8. Behind the Walls

The rest of your life.

I think myself, laying in bed, hours later, repeating those words in my head. The room is pitch black, and the only noise I can hear is the wind, slowly drifting through the cracks of the house.

'There are worse lives to live.' I think. 'A bed, plenty of food, and not getting processed are definitely some improvements.'

I feel myself slowly drifting to sleep, when the image of Mike pops into my head.

"So that's it?" He exclaims. "Everyone else is just stuck here?"

I sit up on the bed. "I don't know, Mikey. There's not much I can do. I don't even know whats really going on out there."

He chuckles. "Not much you can do about it? Yeah right. Not much you want to do is more like it. You've got a good life here. An easy life. But everyone else will continue to live in those facilities, being processed. You're the only one who can save them, and you're not going to do anything? Do you think you could live knowing that?"

His voice fades away, and I'm left in the dark, alone once again.

Sleep alludes me, Mike's words resonating through my head, an echo repeating over and over. The more I try to ignore it, the more I end up thinking about it. 

Could I live like that? Knowing that every night I spend here, safe, innocent people are dragged to their deaths.

I eventually pass out, exhaustion finally taking over.

In the morning, I decide take a walk.

Of course, I don't tell anyone about my hike. Instead, while no one is looking, I sneak downstairs, down the stairs, through the kitchen and out the door.

A nice breeze us in the air, cool air blowing against my skin. As I begin to roam farther from the house, the morning fog slowly begins to fade, being replaced by sunlight. After a moment, I'm finally able to get a good look of my whereabouts.

All around me is flat ground. Low grass is everywhere, with only a few small bushes appearing every couple of meters. High above me is something I hadn't seen in years. A clear sky, with a few white clouds, slowly drifting above me. In the distance are several houses, distanced from each other, each identical to Kresh's. A quick glance shows that I've walked about a hundred feet from Kresh's own house.

But all of this is forgotten the instant that I see the wall.

For a moment, my mind is unable to comprehend what my eyes see.

Surrounding me is a massive structure, hundreds of feet high.

A massive grey wall looms in front of me. From the distance, it could have been made of almost anything, and I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

The wall is about a mile from Kresh's house, with several other houses scattered in between us.

The distance makes the wall a mystery. For all I know, the wall could have a stairway leading to the top. 

The curiosity nearly drives me insane, but my common sense keeps me in check. A mile is a long distance, and with the flat grass, being seen is almost inevitable.

I begin to walk back to the house, when I spot a problem.

In the distance is a guard walking towards me, head down. I drop to the ground, and from the floor, I see him only about fifty feet away. 

He carries a rifle, and a small bag. He walks along, yawning occasionally.

I realize that he must be starting his shift as a scout, watching the area. He had probably just woken up, and likely left his house only a few minutes after I'd come out.

He stops at a spot, only a few meters away, dropping the bag and his gun, and begins to stretch, likely to warm himself up.

My mind is racing, trying to think of a way out. In between me and Kresh's house is an armed guard. 

It's only because of luck that I haven't been spotted. But luck always runs out eventually. He could look up, and see my lying in the grass at any moment. And being both unarmed, and over 30 meters from safety, I'm not in the greatest situation.

But the guard himself gives me an opening.

He finishes his stretches, and reaches down for his weapon, facing away from me.

That was all that I needed.

I charge towards him, the gap between us quickly decreasing.

8 meters away. 6, 4. He turns around just in time to see my flying towards him.

He lets out a short cry of shock as I tackle him, knocking the weapon from his hands. 

He hits the ground hard, and in the moment that he's disoriented from the blow, I slam my palm up into his jaw. 

His eyes roll into the back of his head, and he lays there, unconscious.

I look around, making sure that there aren't any guards nearby, and grab his weapon and his bag. I also grab onto the guard's ankle and begin to drag him towards the house.

It takes a while, but I'm eventually able to get everything into Kresh's house, making sure that no other traces of the guard are left outside.

I open the door to carry the guard in, only to find Kresh and the others waiting for me at the table.

The instant that Kresh sees me, he opens his mouth, probably to yell at me, only to close it a moment later when he sees what I've brought back.

"Umm. Surprise?" I say, weakly.

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

I wince as Kresh begins to shout at me.

"Why in the world did you go outside?!? How did you beat a guard??"

As quickly as I can, I recount the events that had led me to this moment.

Claire and Jomm are silent throughout the story, and Ehlboy seems to cling on to every detail of my story.

Meanwhile, Kresh seems ready to explode, and the instant I finish my story, he does exactly that.

"What the hell were you thinking?!? You've endangered every single person in this house!!"

I try to respond and defend myself, but Kresh simply picks me up by the collar and slams me against the wall.

Claire lets out a cry of shock and backs away, as Kresh continues to glare at me.

I prepare for a beating, but instead, Kresh drops me.

I lean against the wall, as Kresh grabs the guard and drags him towards his room.

"I'll tie him up and make sure he's kept hidden, so no one finds out."

He enters his room, and turns towards me. 

"And as for you. If you ever break another rule, I'll drag you into the processing machine myself."

And with that, he slams his door shut. The click signifies him locking his door.

For a moment, there's silence. It's quickly broken up by Claire's shouts.

"Are you insane?? Why would you ever go outside!?"

I shrug. "I wanted to find out exactly where I am. Where we're trapped inside of."

Claire sighs and sits on the couch.

Ehlboy puts his hand on my shoulder. "Look, I know you're new here, but you should have known better."

I shrug him off. "Look, I don't want to live in here forever. The people need to know what's happening. What's really going on. And every day that we stay her, hundreds are being slaughtered."

Jomm sits besides Claire and sighs. "Look, we've already tried to escape. Twice. And it's simply not possible."

I stare at him. "How could you know that? Just cause you fail twice doesn't mean it's impossible?!"

Claire lets out a growl of frustration. "Look! We're not willing to risk anyone else dying trying to escape!"

I growl back, and begin to retort, but she slaps me. Hard.

"Do you realize what we've lost trying to escape? What he's lost?" She says, pointing at Kresh's locked door.

"Kresh? What do you mean?"

She sighs, tears welling in her eyes, and takes a seat. Ehlboy motions for me to sit as well.

"I'll tell you everything."

I take a seat besides Claire, and he begins to tell me what had happened.

"Like we've said before, there used to be more of us. 5 escapees, and Kresh."

"One of the escapees was names Tomas. He was the jokester of the group, the life of the party."

"And the other was Maddy."

Claire rests her head against the couch. "Maddy was the first person to escape, ever. And it just so happened that her own boyfriend had become a guard."

I stare at her in disbelief. "What?!?"

She smiles. "They had been together when she'd signed up for the program. She had planned on doing it with him, but was taken before she could tell him."

Jomm chimes in. "When Kresh realized she had entered the program, he decided to become a guard, which meant he could actually find out where she was "enjoying paradise". If he'd simply signed up for the program as well, he could have been taken to a different facility."

"And wouldn't you know it, he found her. And luckily, when she escaped, she found him."

I nod, clinging to every word. "What happened to her?"

Claire nods. "She was killed. Almost the same way you would have been. She went outside one day, and was shot by a guard who stumbled across her while patrolling."

I stare at her shocked. "But how do you know that it's impossible to escape? You said the you guys have tried, What happened then?" I ask.

Jomm flinches. "That's how Tomas happened to die. We all actually went to escape. But it's impossible."

"There are two entrances to the walls. One is a tunnel that's heavily guarded. It's how they transport kids in. It's impossible to get through without being seen. But there's another way in."

Ehlboy picks up the story. "There are entrances from the top. There are elevators that will take you all the way up, but we can't access them. For us, we have to take the old way up. A ladder, a metal ladder that leads to the top. It's a long climb, and it's hard to get up. Claire and I only made it halfway before we had to give up halfway."

Jomm sighs. "Kresh, Tom, and I made it to the top. But then, it gets even harder. The only real way out is by smuggling yourself in a truck, where they transport all of their..." He shudders for a moment. "All of their meat. But to get there, you have to make it down hundreds of stories, without being seen. Kresh and I only made it out because Tom distracted some guards before we were seen. Tom wasn't so lucky. A single shot in the head, and he was gone."

I take in all of this information, and I realize that they weren't exaggerating. I search my mind, but can't think of a single way that we could escape. Anyways that would be possible at least.

Claire sighs. "You see? It's impossible. So, we've decided to except it, and go on with our lives. You should too."

She leaves, going back up the secret staircase, and the others follow her, leaving me alone. 

I try to process everything that I'd been told. 

''Maybe they're right. Maybe I should just move on.' I think.

I begin to head towards the stairs, when I hear something from Kresh's room. 

I slowly creep up to his door, and listen carefully, to hear him crying. 

Weeping as if he had just suffered a great loss.


	9. Behind the Walls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to post this chapter. I sort of lost motivation to continue writing this story, but after a few months, I'm ready to continue the series.

When I come downstairs the next morning, Kresh is back to his old cheerful self.

It's hard to imagine that the person joking around while cooking some bacon was the same person who'd thrown me up against a wall just the night before.

As I sit down at the table, I'm still uneasy, prepared for someone to yell at me, maybe even attack me.

But none of that happens. Kresh just sets a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me, smiling and patting me on the back like nothing had ever happened.

The only time we even mention the event is when Jomm asks Kresh about the guard that we'd captured. 

Kresh had simply looked up at him, and in a chilling tone, responded. "Don't worry. I dealt with it."

I realize very quickly, that I would have been far more comfortable if he'd yelled at me instead.

A week later, and everything has returned to normal. Every day is nothing but relaxing. There's not much to do inside, so I quickly bond with the others over hours of card games, monopoly and talk.

I begin to learn about each of their personalities.

Jomm is a fun guy. Always joking around, always having fun. Always energetic. He as a bit wild, but never out of control. He nicknamed me OmNomDom, because he told me that I ate a lot.

Ehlboy is kind, smart, and laid back. If Jomm is fun in a wild way, Ehlboy's more the calmer side of fun. He enjoys creating art, with anything he could find in the house.

And then there was Claire. She calls herself quirky, and fun. I just call her crazy.

Her definition of fun was constantly attacking me.

From pouring ice water on me while I'm asleep, to punching me whenever I saw her, to giving me an Oreo that had mayonnaise inside.

Kresh finally stopped her when she planned to shove me down the stairs as a joke.

But though she stopped the physical abuse stopped, she started to use verbal abuse.

Her favorite thing to do is butcher my last name.

My last name, Panganiban has always been difficult to say. However, Claire finds it funny to butcher my name in a new way every time she sees me. From Panigram, to Panananna, to Panamango.

I thought that I'd get used to her insults, but she manages to think up of a plethora of new insults to use every day.

"Well, that's just her personality." Jomm tells me one day, in the middle of our eightieth game of monopoly.

Whenever Claire is around, the two guys are afraid to talk negatively around her, as it would likely lead to them getting karate chopped in the neck.

Luckily, Claire is in the bathroom at the moment, so we're free to talk.

Ehlboy leans in closer, whispering, "She'll basically bully you for a month or so, before she stops. That's what happened with me."

I sigh. "I'm not sure how you even survived a month. I don't think I can go through another week of this."

Ehlboy shrugs. "Her attacks on you are suspiciously dangerous. Mine were as simple as unscrewing the caps on the salt shaker."

I sigh. "So what you're saying is she hates me that much more?"

Jomm laughs. "Actually, I think that it might be the opposite."

I glance over at him, confused.

He smiles. "I think Claire has a huge, no, a massive crush on you."

For a moment, I sit there, shocked. Then I laugh. "Yeah right, a crush. Because the logical thing to do is to attack the person you like."

Ehlboy sniggers. "Then again, does she seem like a logical person to you?"

I ponder on that statement. "Well, maybe you're right after all."

"Right about what?"

I practically jump onto the board, as Claire sneaks up and takes her seat back at the board. She looks at my shocked face and laughs.

"Right about what?"

"How were you listening to us?"

Her eyes narrow. "Why? We're you guys talking about me? What did you say?!"

"Nothing" I say.

Jomm grins. mischievously. "Oh yeah, nothing at all. Except that Dom think you loooove him!"

"What!" We exclaim simultaneously.

Ehlboy is dying of laughter as Claire begins to hit both Jomm and I.

"You're delusional! I don't have a crush on anyone, especially not someone like you!"

"Ouch," I murmur. "That was a little harsh."

Jomm smirks again. "Yeah Claire. Dommy here doesn't like it when you insult him, you know? If you want him to like you back..."

He never gets the chance to finish that sentence. Claire grabs the entire monopoly board and slams it over his head. With a yelp, Jomm goes down.

"Let me get this straight." She glares at us as she stands. "If anyone brings up this topic again, I'll make sure that you regret ever leaving the Facility in the first place!"

With that threat, she storms off.

"Dom says he'll get you some flowers tomorrow morning!" Jomm calls out.

From her scream of frustration, I guessed that she'd heard him.

I sigh, my head sore from the beating. "Well, I guess that settles it."

Jomm smiles, still clearly in pain. "What do you mean? It just proves it even more!"

I shake my head. "If you want to believe that, fine. But I prefer to be alive."

I begin to head to my room, but Jomm stops me.

"Hey Dom. Before you go, can I ask you something?"

I turn and shrug. "Go ahead."

Kresh smiles. "We know that Claire like you. But the question is, do you like her too?"

I stand there, shocked. "Absolutely not!" I cry, maybe too quickly. "Why would you ever even think that?!"

"He's blushing!" Ehlboy exclaims, still giggling.

I storm up the stairs and into my room. I check in the mirror, and see that he is right. My cheeks are bright red, and I find myself blushing even more when I recall what Jomm had said.

"We know that Claire like you. But the question is, do you like her too?"

I groan and collapse onto my bed. 'I'm too tired to think about that right now.' I tell myself, despite not being tired in the slightest.

I head back downstairs with a sigh. When I get back to the living room, Jomm and Ehlboy are both still talking, grins on their faces.

They turn to see me, and Jomm opens his mouth, but I speak before he can get the first word out.

"We can play monopoly, and have fun, or I can leave again. If you talk about Claire and myself one more time, I'm out."

They look at each other, and shrug. "Sure, why not." They say together.

I sit down, and we pick up the mess that Claire had left. The entire time, I can tell that Jomm is holding back a witty retort, or anything about what had happened. But he's able to stay silent.

We play for hours, never once bringing up the topic, all the way until we go to sleep.

When I go downstairs the next morning, I'm surprised to find that I'm not the last one up. Surprisingly, Claire seems to still be in he bed, despite normally being first down.

Inside the kitchen, Jomm and Kresh are cooking while they converse with Ehlboy.

When Kresh sees me, he smirks, and I know immediately that they'd told him exactly what had happened.

After a few minutes, they finish cooking, and we set the table together. Just as we're sitting down to eat, I hear an enraged cry from upstairs. I turn to Kresh.

"Why am I the only one who got in trouble for breaking the "no loud noises" rule?"

He laughs. "I'm not scared of you. But her, I can't do anything to stop her."

I look at him in disbelief and sigh, grabbing my fork. Before I can shovel the eggs into my mouth, I hear footsteps pounding on the stairs. I turn around and I see Claire flying at me, swinging something at my face.

I yelp, ducking so low that my face slams into my breakfast.

I dive out of my chair before she can swing again, and I hurry away before turning to confront her.

"What the hell was that?" I demand.

Claire laughs indignantly. "What do you mean what was that? What the hell is this?" she yells, waving her weapon.

I look at the object and realize what she's holding in her hands. A large bouquet of flowers, beautiful flowers, now in disarray.

"Why'd you give me this, Dom?! Is this some kind of joke?!" She growls.

I shake my head in disbelief. "What? I didn't get you those?! I don't even know where I would get those?!"

"Oh." Claire says. For a moment, she shows an emotion I'd never seen from her. Disappointment.

The moment passes quickly, and instantly, she's back to yelling.

"Well, if it wasn't you, who was it?"

A snigger from the other side of the table confirms my suspicion. I turn and see that the others are watching us gleefully, struggling to hold in their laughter.

Claire walks up to Kresh, and slaps him, hard. He cries out, and that's all that the others can take.

Laughter erupts in the kitchen, along with some wheezing. Jomm is turning red, slamming his fist on the table, while Ehlboy is practically rolling on the floor. Claire's face is bright red, from either rage or embarrassment, or likely both.

"You," Kresh gasps, "You should have seen the loom on your face!"

"Shut up!" Claire yells, her voice barely audible over the laughter.

Throughout all of this, I'm silent. I grab my food, and head for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Kresh asks, still giggling.

"I'm going upstairs, and staying up there, until she learns to stop attacking me." I say, glaring at Claire.

Ehlboy stands up looking uncomfortable, all signs of laughter fading. "Look, Dom, it was just a joke. We're sorry if it hurt you."

I ignore him, going up into my room instead, locking the door behind me.

I sit on my bed, with my plate of ruined eggs, and sigh. 'She probably can't change,' I think. 'But I'm not coming out unless she does.'

A few hours later, and I'm still in my room, staring at the ceiling. Every once in a while, I can hear them moving around, in the kitchen, going up the stairs. But no one has stopped by room.

To entertain myself, I begin think about the facility, or rather, the people inside. The fact that so many people are being killed in that building, yet I can't do anything to stop them.

'Maybe we could attack the guards. Use their weapons against them.' I ponder. I discard the idea immediately. It would be hard enough to take down even one guard. But there are dozens, maybe even hundreds of guards in total. It would be impossible to over throw them all, even if we managed to arm the "prisoners".

My thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door.

I sit up on the bed, before calling out. "Come in."

The door opens, and Claire enters the room quickly, closing the door behind her.

She sits cross legged on the floor in front of me, but says nothing. I stay silent as well.

A few seconds pass, and the silence continues, before she finally speaks.

"Dom, I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I was honestly just joking around, but I can see that I went too far."

I sigh. "That would be an understatement."

She looks up at me, angrily. "Look, you idiot." She stops herself quickly, before continuing. "Look, I know that you're angry, and you have every right to be so. But could we just, I don't know, start over?"

I pause for a moment, pretending to think it over, but I've already decided on what I'm going to say.

I shrug. "Sure. Let's start over then. Hi there, my name's Dominic. You can call me Dom."

She rolls her eyes. "You know what I meant, you idiot."

I gasp, mockingly pressing my hand against my chest and leaning back. "Excuse me," I say in a fake offended voice. "Isn't it a little rude to call someone you just met an idiot?"

That gets her to laugh, and for a moment, we go back as forth, arguing with each other in mocking voices, giggling the whole time.

Eventually, when the laughter dies down, Claire stands up to leave, but stops at the door to look back at me before she does.

"We're cool, right?"

I think of responding sarcastically, or maybe with a joke, but decide against it.

"Yeah," I say. "We're cool."

Claire lets out a sigh of relief before she finally exits the room.

I lay back on the bed, sighing. 'Honestly,' I think to myself, 'That could have gone much worse.'


	10. Behind the Walls

7 months later

November 18, 2024

As I open my eyes, the dark room slowly fills with light, as the sunlight trickles through my room window.

I slowly pull myself out of the bed and yawn. Behind me, a figure shifts around.

Claire pulls the blanket over herself, rolling slightly, until she's turned towards me.

I smile, brushing her hair out of her still shut eyes before walking towards the closet and changing.

It's been around 7 months since Claire had decided to stop bullying me. It took a few months for her to get used to me, but eventually, we became great friends. Pretty soon, I'd developed feelings for her.

After a couple months of teasing, joking, and playing around, we decided to try out dating.

Thankfully, it seems to be working out great. Two months since we'd started dating, and they had been the greatest months of my life.

The time that I spent with Claire, as well as Kresh, Jomm, and Ehlboy was incredible, to the point where I'm almost grateful that Wagyu World had abducted me. Almost.

The thought makes me chuckle, as I pull on a shirt and head downstairs.

I head to the kitchen and pour myself a bowl of cereal. I'm halfway done when the front door opens.

Kresh sighs as he pulls off his boots and heads over to talk with me. 

"Any news?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "Not much. A new addition to the facility. But other than that, it was just an average day."

'Average.' I think, my mouth full of cereal.

I think about how different "average" was to me only a year ago. Back then, I spent everyday watching people suffer, fearing that their life could be the next one to end. Now, I'm simply a bystander, hiding in this house, trying to forget about the horrors that occur in that building only a mile away.

It took a while to get used to it. To realize that there was nothing that we could have done. To understand that there was nothing we could do to save the people being processed in the facility. 

So I stay in this house, laying low and keeping quiet. It's a great place to live. A safe home, great friends. But even with all of that, I still have an urge. An urge to rush out there and rescue everyone trapped in that facility.

I feel someone wrapping their arms around me, and I smile. 

Claire gives me a small peck on the cheek, before going off to make her own bowl of cereal.

I watch her, happiness mixing in with my sorrow.

'I wouldn't be able to do it.' I sigh. 'Even if I got the chance to try, I wouldn't be able to leave her.' 

Claire had become one biggest priority over the last few months. She's what keeps me happy in this house, even if she still punches me occasionally. Well, her, and the board games everyone plays every once in a while.

By the time I finish my breakfast, Ehlboy is up, and Jomm follows behind him, stretching his arms out.

'This is my home.' I think, as I return the hug to Claire. 'This is where I belong.'

But my mind begins to wander. 

"I may know how to get out of this place."

Words that Kresh had mumbled to himself, not realizing that I'd heard.

Even after he'd reassured me that, 'it's nothing' and 'it's just a dream'.

No matter how many times he'd tell me that, I still feel myself hoping, wishing for an opportunity to come.

No matter how much I want to stay with Claire, with everyone, a part of me still yearns for freedom, and for revenge.

'But,' I attempt to reassure myself. 'Now's not the time to be thinking about escape. You can think about it when you have a real chance.'

I stroll back to my room, and pull myself up to look out the window. When I'd first arrived, the window was far too high to see through, being 8 feet above me. But with some effort, I found a method to reach it. 

Simply jump and grab the window sill, and pull yourself up. It's a lot of work to look out of a window, but to me, it's worth it.

The sight is both peaceful and frightening. The low grass is flowing in the wind, and from above, they almost look like small waves. The sky is an incredibly light blue, with clouds scattered around. Beautiful. But In the distance is the facility. The same place where so many would meet their end, where so many are kept and slaughtered. And in the distance looms the massive wall that blocks us from the rest of the world. The wall that keeps us from freedom. 

"It's terrifying." I murmur to myself.

I gaze out and try to clear my mind. It's been a while since I've been outside. I've only gone out twice since the time Kresh had yelled at me. Once on my own at night, because I needed some fresh air. Once with Claire, to look at the stars. 

That night had been magical. Laying on the roof, looking at the night sky. Not even the fear of being caught could ruin the moment. 

Though it's fun to be outside after months of being cooped indoors, I understand that it's too dangerous. Putting myself, and the others, in danger just to be outside is simply too big of a risk.

I sigh. I've almost forgotten how it feels to be relaxed. To be completely relieved of the idea that someone could take you away. 

I continue to gaze out of the window, thoughts still rushing in my head, when something catches my eye. 

I lean in closer to the window, and peer at the shape nearing the house. When I realize what it is, I gasp, and leap off the window sill. 

I rush down the stairs where everyone is finishing up their meal. Claire looks up from her spot in the living room, and she smiles when she hears me approaching, only to narrow her eyes when she sees my expression.

"Kresh! Hurry!" I gasp. He leaves his chair and rushes over to me.

"Outside." I continue. "There's someone coming! And it's not a guard!"

They react in an instant. The other three rush up the stairs, while Kresh rushes and looks at the window. "Hide!" He hisses to me. I begin to go to the stairs, but curiosity gets to me, and I duck behind a chair instead.

Kresh heads outsides, his gear on and his gun in his hand, and I scurry to the living room window, staying low.

I peer out the window, and watch as the scene unfolds.

The mysterious person, who I can now see is a girl, is running towards the house. I recognize the clothes that she wears. She's escaping from the facility!! The girl, who I realize is startlingly young, maybe 10 years old, is panting, charging towards the house, until she spots Kresh rushing towards her. 

She stops in her tracks, and begins to run in the opposite direction, when Kresh yells something out. I catch the words, "Wait!" and, "Safe here." 

The girl hesitates for a moment, which turns out to be her downfall. 

A sharp crack can be heard from the distance, and the girl stumbles, looking down at the hole in her chest. 

I watch in horror, as she collapses. Kresh kneels down, and soon, a fellow guard appears, still holding the gun that he'd used to end the girl's life.

Muffled conversation can be heard from outsides, and soon, Kresh and the guard are lifting the body, heading back in the direction of the facility.

For a moment, the guard glances towards me, but I duck quickly. Luckily, it seems as if he hadn't seen me, as when I finally look bak out of the window, the two of them are far in the distance, still holding the lifeless body of the murdered girl.


End file.
